


Not My Thing, Sorry

by Halloweengirl



Category: Dangan Ronpa - All Media Types, Dangan Ronpa 3: The End of 希望ヶ峰学園 | The End of Kibougamine Gakuen | End of Hope's Peak High School, Dangan Ronpa: Trigger Happy Havoc
Genre: Angst, Autistic Nanami Chiaki, Headcanon, Hope's Peak Academy, Hurt No Comfort, Inspired by Real Events, Internal Monologue, Medication, Meta, Mother-Daughter Relationship, No Spoilers, One Shot, Self-Doubt, Self-Esteem Issues, The Author Regrets Everything, Video & Computer Games, i'm just projecting onto nanami now dammit, idk i'm confused help, shit am i actually a nanami kinnie, venting
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-07-05
Updated: 2020-07-05
Packaged: 2021-03-04 18:01:47
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 821
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/25080559
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Halloweengirl/pseuds/Halloweengirl
Summary: Nanami Chiaki really loves playing video games. Her mother tries her best to be supportive. But they just don't have the same interests.
Relationships: Hinata Hajime & Nanami Chiaki
Comments: 9
Kudos: 11





	Not My Thing, Sorry

**Author's Note:**

> so,,, i tried introducing my mom to dr since it's my special interest and my psychologist told me to open up  
> we've only finished the prologue so far and she already thinks it's too violent  
> she doesn't like it  
> fml

Chiaki tilted her head. "...So what do you think?"

"...Hm. I don't think I like this," her mother confessed.

"Eh?"

"It's just so violent...! It feels like some sadistic torture or something."

"But nothing's even happened yet—!"

"Have you seen what that bear thing kept talking about? And that moment when he listed all the killing methods? Ugh...! It feels horrible."

"But there's some great messages behind the series, and the murder mysteries only last for the first two games, then we'll go into the spin-offs and light novels—"

"There's probably just going to be more violence, isn't there? Just the senseless killing of children..."

"Mom, please..."

"I'm sorry, but I can't get into this story if characters keep dying left and right."

"But there's only one murder per chapter! And there's five chapters with murders per game! It's not that much!"

"The way they explained it in that game, one more person's gonna die each chapter. By execution, too. I'm guessing it's gonna be very graphic, and I'm not looking forward to it."

"W-Well, the series isn't supposed to be feel-good in the first place. It's—it's harsh, but that brings all the more satisfaction when the survivors escape, don't you think? And there's some philosophical stuff sprinkled in, too. I can't get into it because I'd be going into spoiler territory, but one of the characters—"

"Look, you're allowed to like this series, but it's just not my cup of tea. I've got work to do—see you later."

With that, Chiaki's mom got up from the couch and left. The girl sat there unmoving for a few seconds before retreating back to her room. Maybe her mom was right. Maybe this franchise really was too violent. Had her Ultimate Gamer talent numbed her emotions? Had she played so many video games that it made her uncaring?

No, she tried to reason with herself, she cared for her friends and family. She had empathy, she had _sympathy_. Just because she was autistic didn't mean she was a robot or something. She'd seen countless posts on the Internet about that. Besides, wasn't sharing your interests seen as bonding? And her mom was allowed not to like the series.

Then why did it feel like a pang in her chest whenever someone insulted that franchise? Sure, she identified with some of the characters, and _sure_ , maybe she'd written some fanfiction about it, but that didn't mean she'd created it or something...! So why did it hurt? Hinata-kun didn't seem to have that many problems with it, only getting a bit irked when his favorite characters went six feet under—but that was pretty much a prerequisite for the series. Always be prepared for your faves to bite the big one.

Should Chiaki drop the franchise altogether, she wondered. Just cut all links with it and it'll stop mattering to you. It had happened in the past, after all—some of her special interests had simply drifted away until she could barely remember anything about their lore except the stories, names of the characters, and a few soundtracks. Why couldn't she just apply that logic now?

Was she in too deep? She was definitely hyperfixating, but would she be able to focus herself on something else? Her grades had been dropping lately—the only reason why she was still at Hope's Peak was because classes weren't mandatory in the first place. After all, the only thing you needed to do there was polish your talent. Was her whole life really going to be entered around video games? About _this specific_ series? There was no way for her to know. Heh, at least she was self-aware. That was something.

Chiaki knew she should count herself lucky in the grand scheme of things. She had a roof above her head, loving (if not a bit distant) parents, food on the table for every meal, nice clothing, a few video game consoles, really, she was actually a bit spoiled. All in all, there was no reason for her to be sad. And yet here she was. Nanami Chiaki, the sad and angsty Ultimate 'Gamergirl'. Pathetic.

She opened the pill bottle on her nightstand and dry-swallowed her medication, not bothering to go get herself a glass of water. A bitter taste spread through her mouth, making her wince. The teen didn't like being on meds, but her parents kept insisting on it until she caved in. Result, she was now constantly dozing off during class, a fact she often got reminded of by Yukizome-sensei. Only one more thing to add to her already long list of flaws.

Reaching to grab her hoodie, she wrapped it around her with a shiver. Damn this A/C. It was better than being outside in the sweltering summer heat, but that didn't mean it felt good. Just another thing she was needlessly complaining about, she thought. She really sucked, huh.

**Author's Note:**

> starting to think i should quit the dr franchise  
> i've been super into it for a year and a half now  
> i'm hyperfixating on it and that's probably not healthy  
> i'm doing a novel adaptation of it and so far dr1 has over 1000 pages  
> i'm also thinking of making a comic adaptation with redesigns for the characters and a slightly modified story (for plot holes and excessive fanservice) but it feels like too much and i don't have the materials anyway  
> i try getting ppl into it but it never works  
> one of my friends got up to v3 but quit when akamatsu died  
> another one is more supportive (he rlly likes the music) but he fucking hates komaeda, who's a huge comfort character of mine  
> another one just keeps sending cursed dr memes to the gc no matter how much i tell her to stop  
> another one only knows junko and doesn't seem all that interested  
> and the others just don't give a damn  
> my brother doesn't give a fuck and probably thinks i'm creepy for liking the series  
> and my parents probably think there's even more stuff wrong w me than before  
> they keep talking about how violent it is  
> there probably is something wrong with me if i'm numb to all this shit  
> i keep seeing discussions online about how heart-wrenching the deaths were but i didn't feel anything when i saw them, i just thought they looked cool


End file.
